The Oath/Eiðrinn, Film Screening

THE OATH/EIÐRINN. Icelandic auteur Baltasar Kormákur directs and stars in this psychological thriller about a father who tries to pull his daughter out of her world of drugs and petty crime, only to find that danger can be found in unexpected places.

The Oath offers a profoundly universal tale about a parent’s responsibility for—and anxiety over—his adult children. At the same time, the film is uniquely Icelandic, ruminating on both the impact of the country’s relatively sudden urbanization (Finnur’s father, a sinister and abusive figure, was a rancher who lived alone for much of his life) and its long-standing tradition of dogged independence. Finnur’s dilemma, caught up in his quest for personally delivered justice, evokes Icelandic sagas. (Iceland, 2016).

THE OATH/EIÐRINN. Icelandic auteur Baltasar Kormákur directs and stars in this psychological thriller about a father who tries to pull his daughter out of her world of drugs and petty crime, only to find that danger can be found in unexpected places.

The Oath offers a profoundly universal tale about a parent’s responsibility for—and anxiety over—his adult children. At the same time, the film is uniquely Icelandic, ruminating on both the impact of the country’s relatively sudden urbanization (Finnur’s father, a sinister and abusive figure, was a rancher who lived alone for much of his life) and its long-standing tradition of dogged independence. Finnur’s dilemma, caught up in his quest for personally delivered justice, evokes Icelandic sagas. (Iceland, 2016).